Thank you for joining me again this evening for our nightly podcasts. I perform these podcasts in the hopes that you will be able to education yourself on the topics discussed so you can make better informed medical decisions regarding your health in the future. I am doctor Harrison Campbell of Restoration Health a premier sugar land chiropractors office. Previously we discussed the anatomy of the pelvis, specifically the bones and joints involved. Tonight we will move away from the pelvis to discussing the hand.
Most people when they look at the hand they see four fingers and a thumb which provides control and offers fine motor skills. When sugar land chiropractors look at a hand they understand the value each digit brings to the equation and what losing that digit will cost a person in functionality.
To start lets break down each individual finger so there is no confusion about which digit we are discussing. First off when sugar land chiropractors call something a digit is referring to a finger or a toe. AS we are discussing the hand a digit in this case is a finger. The thumb is considered the first digit, and then you count numerically to the pinky which is the fifth digit. Now obviously when the term thumb is used everyone knows which digit you are describing. The index finger is the second digit and people sometimes refer to it as the pointer finger. Adjacent to this index or pointer finger is the middle finger or third digit. Next to the middle finger is the ring finger, named so because this is the finger which are adorned with rings most often. This ring finger is the fourth digit. Finally we come to the fifth digit which as everyone knows is the pinky or little finger.
Now let us start with the first digit or the thumb. This digit is an opposable digit as sugar land chiropractors know and it allows us to grasp and hold objects. This digit is what allows us to control tools and really enables us to interact with the world around us. Without this digit we lose a huge part of our ability to manipulate the world around us. This is why should someone lose this finger is an accident, a toe is often used to replace it as best as possible.
Now let us move to the index or pointer finger. This finger allows for the fine control of our tools. Whether writing or using a screw driver, this finger grants us what sugar land chiropractors call fine motor skills. Our brains ability to make small accurate movements with this finger make sure that tools which we can hold due to the thumb can be put to work in an accurate manor. Without this finger we lose much of our precision control over object. Our middle finger will try to pick up the slack, but it is not as dexterous as the index finger.
For the middle finger is falls into the same grouping as the index finger. This finger provides fine motor skill control to any object we are holding in our hand. While not as nimble as the index finger the middle finger can perform an admirable job if required, such as the previously mentioned case of a missing index finger. Now should we lose the middle finger we do lose a portion of out control in a fine motor skill situation, but as long as we retain the index finger we will still have decent control.
Now these last two fingers are ones in which most people misunderstand the function. In a hypothetical situation of if you had to lose a finger most people would automatically say the pinky or little finger. This is due to people not understanding the importance of the pinky or the ring finger.
These two finger as sugar land chiropractors know provide the grip strength or power for our grip. Now this seems counter intuitive as these are the smallest of the fingers and often considered the weakest. The ring finger is a portion of the grip, but not the main source of our grip strength when holding an object. The pinky is the finger which clamps down on an object and prevents us from dropping it. I know some of you are doubting what I am saying so I offer a challenge to you. I want you to go home and grab a screw driver. Using this screw driver I want you to attempt to screw something in without using your pinky. Extremely difficult right? This is because of the location of the pinky being able to clamp down on the handle of the screw driver and provide the torque necessary to screw something in.
To this effect the earlier hypothetical question offered of which finger, if you had to lose one would be the best finger to lose and retain the most function of the hand. When I was asked this question in school while learning the hand I offered up the answer of the ring finger. The best possible finger to lose according to sugar land chiropractors if you had to are either the middle or ring fingers. The reason for these is they are accessories to the main fingers for the work load. The index finger is the primary fine motor skill finger and the pinky is the primary grip strength finger. Both the middle and ring finger assist those fingers, but losing one only costs a portion of either strength or control.
Thank you for joining me again this evening for another great podcast. I hope you enjoyed the discussion on the hand and the purpose of each individual finger. As always should you or someone you know require a sugar land chiropractors services or simply have more questions on what was discussed please call Restoration Health today. We would love to schedule you an appointment and get you on the path to better health today. Thank you once again for joining us. Have a good night.